The Fiendlord's Understanding
by wingsofseyfert12
Summary: In his quest to find his beloved sister Magus instead finds someone else. Someone who he has hated and cursed all his life. However is his hate truly warranted or is there something that even he doesn't know?


Disclaimer: All rights to the name "Chrono Trigger" belong solely to Square Enix. I neither own this franchise nor do I profit from the writing of this story.

Author's Note: Been reading some material here in this part of site lately and now I want to write something here as well. Anyway enjoy.

* * *

It felt like a dream really.

To the dark wizard Magus, the long sought and near impossible goal of killing and eradicating Lavos from the face of the Earth had been achieved. As such, Magus was then spared the time to do the one thing he had wanted to do since the fall of the Ocean Palace.

Find Schala.

This would be looked on as odd. Why would a hardened, near evil wizard who was once known as "The Fiendlord" with a black heart wish to find someone as pure as Schala?

Not many knew that this cruel figure's past. A victim of circumstance and damned to a cruel Fate before he was even born. He was a child of Queen Zeal herself which made him prince of that domain. He was once innocent.

As a child he was aloof with others but he was close to his sister, Schala, whom he loved dearly. She was source of safety and comfort in a time where it seemed his mother was descending into complete madness.

Her obsession with Lavos had resulted in the devastation of their kingdom and Janus, the name which Magus had once carried, had found himself spirited away to a foreign time.

It was then that Magus vowed that he would revenge himself upon that creature, Lavos, whom he knew still existed in this time. He had made plan after plan and, after having risen to power, used the Mystics as his instrument to invoke war upon Guardia Kingdom so that he could summon Lavos in the chaos and end that abomination once and for all.

His journey had been long and tedious. He was forced to make allies with those who wished he never would have to but it was necessary to defeat Lavos once and for all.

With his goal completed Magus then set his sights on finding his estranged sister, whom he felt was still alive. It was for this reason that he remained in his home time, over twelve thousand years before the present day, so that he could find Schala. It was probably a futile quest. But he would not give up on her, not while he still drew breath.

Magus would definitely find someone, but not who he expected and definitely not someone he wished to see again.

* * *

It had been nearly a week since his departure from Crono and the others and Magus was combing the shoreline. He knew that Schala possessed great magical powers and if she survived the disaster, she would surely would have put up a barrier of some sort to protect her from the pressures of the water and bring her to the surface.

That was his hope, that he would find her unconscious body along the shoreline. As much as Magus hated doing so, he actually daydreamed of finding Schala's body on the shoreline, wet and completely unconscious. He would take her to his abode, where he would light a fire while he covered her with something warm.

He even went so far as thinking about what foods to cook for her when she came to.

Perhaps it would be strange to think that this man could be tender. He had ended the lives of countless people without a single thought. Many viewed Magus as nothing more than a monster, a Mystic abomination that had terrible power.

At one time he was like that. He was not proud of his actions but Magus had always been of the thought that the means justified the end. Lavos was dead. By his actions he had saved countless billions of lives. What were the lives of a few thousand in comparison to that?

So it was one of those days that Magus was combing the shoreline and was deep in thought, not really expecting to find Schala that day, when he suddenly stumbled and nearly fell onto the cold sand.

Magus cursed silently under his breath, wondering what in the world he nearly tripped on and turned. His normally stoic face suddenly went to that of surprise as he witnessed the body he saw before him on the shoreline.

Queen Zeal.

There she was, her golden and blue dress pressed heavily against her frame, her teal colored hair was in complete disarray and she seemed to have her arms held close against her body.

At once Magus growled at the sight.

This woman had been a source of pain and anguish when he was a child. Such a cruel, heartless woman. How the Queen forced her very own daughter to stand before the Mammon Machine and mutilate herself so that Lavos' energy could be gathered quicker.

Magus scowled as he remembered hiding in the room of the Mammon Machine time and time again and watch his sister literally being tortured by the machine as she struggled to handle the immense energy that was Lavos. That every time he was there he would hear Schala beg her mother for relief. That the task was too great...too painful.

The Queen would turn a deaf ear to her daughter's pleas and even go so far as to beat her while Schala was still bound to the machine.

At once Magus found his gaze upon the fallen form of the queen and now she was completely helpless. He was going to wipe her out. Erase her worthless existence and pray that she burn in Hell.

His body was surrounded by dark energy as he readied his spell to obliterate his victim.

Then Schala's face suddenly appeared before his eyes for a moment. The look on her face showed both disappointment and anguish in his actions and at once Magus stopped his spell.

He could not understand it.

Schala, despite being under constant torment from her mother, still loved the Queen unconditionally. As a child he hated his mother and often times said cruel things about her. This often earned him a harsh scolding from his sister. Even to this day he did not know why.

And now here she was, seemingly risen from the grave, to rebuke him once more for even _considering_ killing his own mother. It did not make any sense. Did Schala not see that the woman lying on the ground had nearly annihilated the human race due to her actions? That her death would only be fitting for everything she has done?

Magus growled once more as he re-summoned his spell in fury. Schala was not going to stop him this time. He grabbed his mother's hair roughly and lifted her head as he raised his other hand, which had ignited to flame, and proceeded to drive it towards the Queen's slender neck.

Only to find himself stopping short of his target by only a few inches.

There, on the Queen's face, was an expression of great pain and regret etched onto it. Her body, frail and thin in his arms, shivered feebly in its final attempt to keep her alive. If Magus did not know any better it was almost as if she was unconsciously _begging_ him to spare her.

With a roar he rose his fist and attempted to try again only to stop at the very last second. So he tried again. Then after having failed that tried again once more. Every single time he tried to kill her he would stop just short of ending her life. The pained almost frightened expression still etched on her face continued to thwart him. It invoked feelings of pity where it should never have developed. As if she was casting a spell to stay his hand.

In his rage and fury Magus pounded the ground harshly as he felt the cold sand bite into his knuckles. He could not do it. There was no way that he could end her life. Not like this.

"Why? You should be dead! Why can't I kill you?"

The only response Magus got was the wind blowing out into the distance.

* * *

For the longest time, all she could see before her eyes was darkness. There was not hint of sound, light nor comfort, just a black abyss.

Though she did not know where she was, she knew how she got there, at least partially.

Immortality had been within her grasp. The energy of Lavos had been successfully harnessed by the Mammon Machine and it was only a matter of time. She would gain immortality and rule all, an evil and beautiful sorceress, feared yet desired by all.

But her plans had been foiled.

How she had gaped in surprise when she saw the red-haired youth come out of nowhere to defy her with his brutish blade and basic magic. She was sure that he had died when Lavos awoke, but there he was, like a phantom lingering on the world to reap its revenge against all those who wronged it.

Then there was him.

So sure was she that Lavos had eradicated this man that she no longer thought of him, but there he was, ready to foil her plans once more.

The Prophet.

Truth be told, when she first heard of him through rumors going about the kingdom, she thought him to be some simple, earthbound druid who had keen insight and nothing more.

But when he had made his presence known to her, she felt as if there was a great weight bearing down on her, driving her to the earth. It was almost as if she was being forced to kneel before this man.

His eyes were cold and distant, his voice, deep as the depths of the sea, commanded utmost respect and his aura, it was as if it enveloped her very being. It felt that even breathing in his presence was considerably more difficult.

Though she knew a few basic spells when it concerned Shadow magic, she was essentially a Water adept, and the strongest one that had ever existed.

But even she shivered as she noticed the magnitude of his powers and that his primary element was Shadow, the strongest of all four magics.

Queen Zeal had lived a long time, longer than what most people would believe (partly due to her very young and vibrant appearance) and it was downright rare when a citizen's affinity went towards Shadow magic. More often than not those who had such an affinity died very young presumably because the power was too great for them to control.

Yet this prophet bowed his knee and offered her his allegiance

She knew that he was something else. For the first time ever in her life she felt a twinge of fear but she was a master at concealing her true emotions. On the outside, she appeared as she always did, tall, proud and confident.

As such, she knew that she could use him. All she had to do was practice a bit of caution.

Never did she believe that the Prophet would be instrumental to her downfall.

* * *

Faced with two people she was sure had died, she found herself on the defensive as she was attacked three to one. She could not recall the third person, so distracted she was on the newly revived red haired youth and the Prophet.

Unfortunately, she knew that the Prophet alone could have dispatched her at her current state so she was forced to borrow Lavos' energy through the Mammon Machine.

Power coursed through her veins, power she never even dreamed existed. She felt invincible, that nothing except Lavos could stop her.

So begun her transformation and she battled once more.

Yet, even this was not enough.

How she remembered the Prophet dispatching her at the last second, tearing through her with a weapon of unusual make, forcing her to revert back to her normal self.

She was angry, oh she was furious.

She had been planning for this for so long. She had put so much work and energy, she was so close that she could nearly taste the fruit of immortality.

But she was thwarted and while she spouted angry words to the trio, mostly at the Prophet, on the inside, she began to feel great sorrow.

She wanted to cry.

It just wasn't fair. Was it so wrong to better one's self, to push the boundaries of death, and push until there was a point that the humble, weak human being could taste immortality and join his brethren in the heavens as one of the gods?

She wanted to be that one. She hated being weak, she hated being human, she hated to age and she hated the fact that despite all her power, death would ultimately claim her and she would have no chance to fight it.

Soon, the newly risen Ocean Palace began to crumble once more and she saw the trio vanish with a bright light.

She knew, without a doubt, that Lavos was finally weary of their intrusion and felt it necessary to end them personally.

But she was now forsaken.

The Mammon Machine was now destroyed and she could no longer borrow power from Lavos. All she saw from her great height was a deep blue abyss that was ready to catch her fallen mass.

And it was there that Death would wait for her she was sure. It would wait for her to fall in the water so that it could enter her lungs and suffocate the life out of her.

Or if it failed in that mission, it would enter her blood and freeze her solid, turning soft flesh into unforgiving ice. Once that was accomplished, she was doomed to sink to the bottom of the ocean where strange and exotic creatures would tear at her, dismembering her once beautiful body to that of an icy and bloody mass.

Yet the Queen, despite having lost the battle for immortality, would not die this way. She refused to accept her fate. She would be damned if Death claimed her in the murky depths of the ocean.

So putting forward the remainder of powers, she casted a barrier which would both protect her from harm and keep her afloat. She knew that she was far from shore and that her barrier would not last nearly long enough to insure her safe passage all the way to a beach.

But she wanted to live, no matter what, and live as long as possible. If Death really wanted her, it would have to commit fully to the effort because as far as the Queen was concerned, she was going to live no matter what.

* * *

After what she thought to be eternity, the darkness began to lift. Light began to flood her sight as her other senses were catching up.

She felt warm, which was a deep contrast to the utter chill she felt for the longest time and she felt dry.

As her eyes finally adjusted to the light and began function once more after being in darkness for so long, she began to make out her surroundings.

She was in what felt a paupers bed with a thin mat of fur over her. About her, she saw a fire with her robe and dress hanging over it.

From what she could make out, she was in what looked like an earthbound hut.

Maybe some kind earthbound found her body on the shore and nursed her back to health.

Well, whoever it was, she did not want to feel indebted to them. She was going to leave right now before anyone could take notice of her.

So she rose and her body protested. She ached all over and her head felt light and dizzy. But she would not stay. She hated the earthbound and while she thought herself fortunate to have been saved, she would never bring herself to give gratitude.

She had to leave and that was final.

So, pushing her protesting body up, she managed to get into sitting position on the mat. For some reason, her body felt oddly light and that was until she remembered her dress and robes drying over the fire. She looked down to find herself in only her under dress which did not leave much room to the imagination.

She scowled as she saw her state of dress and scowled even more that someone had the gall to take her robes off while she was unconscious.

But now was not the time to worry about that. She just had to get out and quick.

Yet, just as she was about to exit the bed she heard a deep voice that made her blood chill with fright.

"I would not move any further if I were you."

The queen suddenly froze solid as she heard those words.

_It can't be, there is no way._

Unfortunately for her, as soon as she turned fully, she nearly gasped in fear at what she saw.

There, sitting in a seat made entirely of hide, was the Prophet.

Never in her life had she been so frightened. She knew that even at her best the Prophet had powers that exceeded her own and now, here she was as helpless as a baby.

But she would never admit fear.

Sitting in the most upright position possible, she glared at the Prophet's red eyes and spoke.

"So it seems we meet again Prophet." said Queen Zeal.

"An unfortunate occurrence." replied the Prophet darkly.

The Queen nearly snorted when she heard the Prophet's response. She retained her composure, however.

"Were you the one who brought me here?" asked the queen forcefully.

"Do you see anyone else here who would have done so?" snapped the Prophet.

"No, I suppose not. Then again why am I still alive? I am more than sure that you would have taken the opportunity to kill me while I was helpless not nurse me back to health."

"And whose to say that you still aren't helpless?" replied the Prophet.

"I would be mindful of my words if I were you Prophet!" spat the queen.

"Concern yourself not with the choosing of my words. I will decide for myself what matter of speaking shall be appropriate." replied the Prophet though a bit of frustration was beginning to creep on him.

The Queen felt insulted by the fact that the Prophet did not seem to be taking her seriously. Then again she still felt so weak. Her legs felt like they would fail her at any moment.

"How dare you speak to me in such an manner!"

At once Magus stood suddenly his posture threatening and his gaze menacing. Queen Zeal did not shirk from his display and instead stared back harshly into his eyes never wavering even though her life was in his hands.

"I no longer serve under you. You are in no position to order me about. I saved your pathetic carcass for reasons that are my own and that is that." replied the Prophet, who was now really beginning to get frustrated.

The Queen knew that she was treading dangerous ground. She could not show weakness before this man. The moment she did she knew that her life would be forfeit. Then again she also knew that pushing him to far would also yield undesirable results. She knew that at this very moment what she chose to say next would determine whether she lived or not.

"What insolence. Perhaps you have forgotten to whom you speak to. Do you not know that I can end your pathetic life right now if I so-"

Queen Zeal never finished as she felt an iron vice grip her throat and slam her against the wall. She saw stars for a moment as she suffered a very brief concussion before realizing that the Prophet had his hand about her throat.

She could still breath but she noted that strange weapon was now pointed towards her throat as well. She looked down to see the Prophet and she could feel his overwhelming intent to kill. Queen Zeal knew that he could kill her now with little effort. She felt her body begin to shake from the fright and she cursed herself mentally. How dare she show fear in the face of an enemy? Even if she died right now she would be damned if she let this false prophet know that he had frightened her.

With great self-control, she stopped her shaking and stared hard onto the eyes of the Prophet. She then sneered, hoping that her bluffing might discourage him.

"You seem to be in a foul mood Prophet. Did you and your band of clots have to flee from the awesome power of Lavos once more?" asked Queen Zeal harshly.

Magus responded by gripping the former queen by the throat ever harder. Just being in such a close proximity that he could _smell_ her infuriated him. He lifted her off her feet and pressed her hard against the wall once more. For someone who had nearly attained immortality and was almost responsible for annihilating the majority of the human race she looked so weak and helpless.

The feel of her skin around his calloused hand, which was so smooth and soft. Just like the rest of her body. Magus had torn full grown Mystic monsters apart with his bare hands, battle hardened warriors which steel swords could not bite down on them. Ripping the Queen's body apart would be like ripping paper.

Just as he made his mind up that he was going to let her die he soon felt a pair of feminine hands reach out and grab his wrists. Magus looked up to find the Queen's face, which still bore a brave gaze but the trembling he felt from her hands on his wrists told him otherwise.

She was frightened.

The Queen would never voice the fact that she was scared but by the simple act of placing her hands on his wrists she told him that she was pleading for her life. Such a subtle way of conveying her message without outwardly begging.

At once the black hearted Fiendlord felt his heart start to break. Could he do this? Could he murder his very own mother in cold blood evil though she may be? What would Schala think? That he had frightened his own mother to the point where she could not control her trembling. That he threatened to choke the life out of her with his bare hands?

With a roar of indignation he let go of the Queen's throat as she fell down on her knees gasping for breath.

"Why...?"

That was a good question. Something that Magus would never attempt to explain to this woman. He already hated the fact that for the second time he could not kill her. The fact that he felt _pity_ for the woman was enough to make him gag. In response he strode across the his abode to the opposite end where there lay a large bag with flies festering about it. He immediately grabbed it though it was so large that he needed both his arms to carry the load.

Magus dropped the bag unceremoniously in front of the Queen. The putrid odor nearly made the Queen gag and cough right then and there.

He grabbed what looked like a large mass of flesh from within the bag itself. He threw the mass at the Queen's feet while he went through another bag.

The Queen was curious as to why the Prophet would show her such a disgusting sight.

Not all too soon, the mass was met with an equally large head that rolled towards her.

At least, it looked like a head though it was nothing like she had seen before.

Like the mass, the outer part of the head's skin was a creamy yellow while the face was stark white. There was a purple gem that adorned the forehead.

Queen Zeal was disgusted with the sight as the remains were rotting and they stank.

"What is this Prophet?" asked the queen in a subdued voice.

"Touch them and all will be clear to you." answered the Prophet roughly.

The queen wrinkled her nose in disgust but she knew better at the moment than to try and defy the Prophet. He had been merciful to her earlier enough for reasons that were beyond her but she would not push him. Not until she had regained some more of her power.

So she went over, and using both arms, touched both the gigantic head and mass.

At once, she knew the power that was emanating from these two masses. It had been an integral and crucial part of her plans for immortality and she almost did not want to believe it.

"Lavos...?" asked the queen.

"The reason why I have let you live for today Queen. I wanted you to live to see exactly what happened to the creature you had devoted yourself to. Indeed it is, the true form of the creature that has been feeding off this planet and where you borrowed all your powers from. What you have been seeing on the outside is nothing but a shell designed to protect this specimen. This before you is the head and heart of the true Lavos. Though it was a coordinated effort, I was the one who delivered the final blow and brought that eternal creature down low." said the Prophet.

For a moment, Queen Zeal was silent as she absorbed this and continued to identify the energy signals given off by the masses of flesh before her.

It seemed that the Prophet was right. She could not sense Lavos anywhere now. It seemed as if it disappeared from the face of the Earth were it not for the fact that its very essence were at her feet at this very moment.

A sudden mania overtook the Queen for a moment as she suddenly stood up.

"I do not believe it! You false prophet you, feeding me lies and twisted words like you have done before!" shrieked Queen Zeal as she kicked the masses away from her.

"Accept what is shown before you queen. Your idea for immortality was a fool's errand that was destined to fail. Your reckless ambition has caused the downfall of your own domain and now your people are either destitute or dead. You are queen of nothing now. Accept that Death is unavoidable for all will have to die sooner or later. Even Lavos, with its great power and might, succumbed to Death." said the Prophet.

"NO! I will not hear it. You are rambling now in an effort to subdue me. There is no way that an immortal being such as Lavos could have fallen prey to Death." said Queen Zeal.

"But that is where you are wrong queen. Lavos was never immortal. Its lifespan may be beyond our comprehension but it surely is not immortal. The evidence is before you. This is not one of Enhasha's dreams, this is reality." answered the Prophet.

For a while, there was silence between the two. The queen simply could not believe what she was hearing but there was no denying it. Lavos was now dead and her dream to become immortal has remained what it was the whole time, just a dream.

Then the Prophet spoke again.

"I should have finished you off back in Zeal when I had the chance, along with the Gurus, Dalton and the Mammon Machine. I had the power and the chance to do so. Perhaps the Kingdom of Zeal would not have fallen then." said the Prophet.

The mention of the fallen kingdom suddenly reminded the Queen what she had given up to chase a dream that could never happen. Without even knowing she bowed her head low in shame that she was solely responsible for bringing down her own domain.

Most importantly losing her two precious children.

With Lavos by her side she felt little to no concern for their well being. If their deaths promised immortality for her people then it was a sacrifice that had to be made. Without the creature there Queen Zeal suddenly felt a wave of anguish and guilt but immediately shook it off.

"Why would the welfare of the Kingdom be of any concern to you Prophet? What's done is done." replied Queen Zeal solemnly.

Magus cursed himself for that little slip up.

"Never mind." answered the Prophet. He did not want to bring up the subject of Schala.

This had put the Queen off a bit. His response was unexpected but she hated the fact that he was hiding things from her. It was evident that by his wanderings around Zeal he was very familiar with the landscape. However she could not recall him ever being an Enlightened.

There was something unusual about this man. She did not know what but she intended to find out.

"What are you really?" asked the Queen curiously.

Magus stood before the Queen and stared hard into her eyes. With practiced simplicity he soon responded.

"My name is Prophet."

This dismissing response suddenly roused the Queen to anger. At once she stood up straight and glared at the Prophet her fear of him forgotten for the moment.

"You think me to be a fool? There is no way that some random wanderer has the kind of power you wield. You must be of the Enlightened and I demand to know who you are!" roared Queen Zeal.

Magus stopped his back still facing the Queen remaining silent. He should be hurting her and making her suffer for what she has done. It was because of her that Schala was now gone. Perhaps spirited away to some forsaken time or dimension he did not know. Magus felt his anger coarse through his veins once more and felt like turning and ending the Queen's life once and for all.

However just as he would do so he would see her face once more as she gazed into his eyes defiantly yet felt just how frightened she was through the trembling of her hands. Never had he seen her so weak and fearful. It almost made him feel ashamed that he had done that to his own mother.

_She is NOT my mother._

There Queen could sense his aura and could tell that he was conflicted. She was not rewarded with an answer though. The Prophet, still keeping his back to her, soon sneered.

"You are to remain in here until I return. Do not attempt to escape because I will know and when I catch you I will make you wish you never set foot outside. You have been warned." snarled Magus as he soon exited from his abode leaving the Queen by herself.

* * *

Author's Note: This is based on a story I have on the adult website but it is not very good so I'm re-writing it here on this website instead. Just trying to write Queen Zeal in a more positive light. Hopefully I pull it off correctly. Anyway hit me up and let me know what you all think.


End file.
